In this episode of The Power Producers Podcast, David Carothers interviews John Borja. John discusses building books of business and shares insight on how to tackle the challenge of attracting to new producers.
Episode Highlights:
- John explains that he has been in the business for 15 years as an independent broker and has worked with three different brokers and brokerages, and this is his third time building a book of business from the ground up. (2:30)
- John believes that building business books has a lot of appeals, but that the part that is hard and can be discouraging is the part where you have to fix things up. (4:39)
- John explains that in California the broker owns the book of business, but principles make it hard to move. (5:54)
- David explains that the way that he attracts producers, and the way that he hires producers is he makes them referral partners to his agency first. (12:29)
- John explains how you may move the book of business with an agreeable attitude between your principal and yourself. (19:24)
- John believes that agencies continue to make it difficult for producers to move on to other organizations, both at the regional and national levels. (22:52)
- John explains how crucial it is for producers going forward to know what is negotiable up front. (25:22)
- John mentions that he likes The Power Producers Podcast’s intro because it is very relevant to the lifestyle of a producer. (27:54)
- John discusses his decision to target and work with larger accounts. (32:04)
- From a leadership standpoint, John believes it is not difficult to change, particularly if you know it will have a direct influence on your organization’s income. (36:53)
- John explains how he learned early on that this industry is greater than him, and that there is a lot of information out there; it’s simply a question of choosing which one to emulate. (42:57)
Tweetable Quotes:
- “I have a little bit more knowledge on building books of businesses now at the third try then at the first try.” – John Borja
- “I know that agency principals struggle with attracting new producers and I believe building books of businesses have big appeal. But at the same time, the restart or revamp stage is the part that is very, very hard. And it kind of can be discouraging.” – John Borja
- “From a leadership perspective, I don’t think it’s difficult to evolve, especially if you know that it’s going to create direct impacts with your revenue to your organization, good or bad.” – John Borja
Resources Mentioned: